At Comic-Con International, Drawn and Quarterly announced that Jason Lutes’ long-running historical epic Berlin will see its final collection, Berlin: City of Lights, released in the fall of 2018. They also plan to release a deluxe hardcover of the complete trilogy at that time.
“Berlin will stand as a singular achievement in comics—an ambitious and detailed exploration of a fascinating time in history by a cartoonist operating at the peak of his talent,” said D+Q Executive Editor Tom Devlin. “I’ve read the numerous chapters of Berlin many times over the years and each time I come away in awe of Jason Lutes’ precision in portraying real people during a time so tumultuous that it could easily overshadow their humanity.”
First published in 1996, Berlin started as a comic series, with plans for 22 issues that would be collected into three graphic novels: City of Stone, City of Smoke and City of Lights. The series examines life in Berlin from 1928 to 1933, during the decline of the Weimar Republic and rise of the Nazi Party, through the eyes of several characters, including Marthe Müller, an art student who just arrives in the city; a group of African-American jazz musicians; and a working class family that splits up because of their political differences, as the mom becomes a Communist and the father becomes a Nazi.
No word yet on when issue #22, the final comic in the series, will arrive.
